Newhouse, Pappas, Budd Introduce Legislation to Combat the Opioid Crisis

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) released the following statement after introducing the Save Americans from the Fentanyl Emergency Act of 2022, or SAFE Act of 2022, alongside Reps. Chris Pappas (D-NH) and Ted Budd (R-NC). This legislation will permanently schedule all current and future fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs, to ensure law enforcement can continue to prosecute the sale and use of these substances.

Fentanyl-related substances have been on a temporary scheduling for Schedule I classification. The Schedule I classification will expire March 11, 2022, when government funding expires, barring any further action by Congress.

“Fentanyl is plaguing our communities in Central Washington and is now the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18-45,” said Rep. Newhouse. “Due to President Biden’s open-border policies, it is streaming across our southern border at alarming rates. Parents, police officers, and community leaders across Central Washington are expressing their concerns with the threat this overdose crisis poses to our communities. This bill will permanently address this crisis through the DEA scheduling process, ensuring that law enforcement have the critical tools they need to combat drug trafficking, reduce overdose numbers in our communities, and combat the opioid epidemic.”

“From my conversations with law enforcement, public health experts, and advocates across New Hampshire, it’s clear that we must do more to confront the opioid crisis, stop the trafficking of fentanyl and its analogues, and support our neighbors suffering from substance use disorder,” said Rep. Pappas. “Permanently scheduling deadly fentanyl analogues is an essential step that will ensure law enforcement retains the tools they need to keep our communities safe and hold traffickers accountable for the harm they have caused. I urge my colleagues in the House to support this legislation to help get these deadly substances out of our communities, and I thank Representatives Newhouse and Budd for partnering with me on this important legislation.”

“Deadly drugs like fentanyl have affected thousands of people, damaged families, and devastated communities across the country,” said Rep. Budd. “Permanently classifying fentanyl analogues as Schedule I substances will give federal and state governments more options to fight the spread of this lethal drug. Congress can and must act to save lives. I’d like to thank Reps. Pappas and Newhouse for teaming up with me on this critical issue.”

Click here to read the full text of the Save Americans from the Fentanyl Emergency Act of 2022.

Background:

Specifically, the Save Americans from the Fentanyl Emergency Act of 2022 will:

• Amend Section 202(c) of the Controlled Substances Act to permanently classify any fentanyl-related substance as a Schedule I drug unless it is already listed in another schedule or specifically exempted.
• Define the types of compounds and molecular variations that count as an analogue of fentanyl.
• Require the Attorney General to publish a list of substances that meet the classification of a fentanyl-related substance in the Federal Register within 60 days of determination. 
• Allow the Secretary of HHS to contract with private entities to conduct research and evaluations into fentanyl-related substances, and create a streamlined process to facilitate research of controlled substances in Schedule I to more closely align it with the process for Schedule II research, to expand our understanding of fentanyl-related substances and other drugs. 
• Require the GAO to issue a report within four years after enactment analyzing the effect of permanent scheduling of fentanyl analogues. The report would analyze impact on research, removal or rescheduling of analogues, manufacturing/trafficking, criminal charges, and overall efficacy on reducing proliferation of fentanyl-related substances.

Rep. Newhouse has been a leader in confronting the opioid crisis during his time in Congress, taking the following actions to combat trafficking of deadly substances, expand treatment opportunities, and secure our southern border:

• On February 10, 2022, Rep. Newhouse sent a letter to President Biden urging his Administration take immediate action on the influx of fentanyl streaming into our country by securing our borders and making fentanyl-related substances’ Schedule 1 classification permanent to ensure law enforcement can continue to prosecute the sale and use of these substances.
• On February 8, 2022, Rep. Newhouse introduced the Dignity Act, which  restarts all currently paused border infrastructure contracts and increases funding for physical border infrastructure.
• On February 3, 2022, Rep. Newhouse introduced the Law Enforcement Officers Preventing (Drug) Abuse Related Deaths or LEOPARD Act. This bill authorizes rural community response pilot grant programs to allow state and local law enforcement agencies to purchase naloxone, an effective tool to prevent and reduce opioid overdose deaths and directs at least 50% of the programs’ grant funding to rural communities.
• On March 2, 2022, Rep. Newhouse cosponsored the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act or the HALT Fentanyl Act. This bill places fentanyl-related substances as a class into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.
• In 2016, Rep. Newhouse voted in favor of the bipartisan 21st Century CURES Act, which increased state grants for treatment from $500 million to $1.5 billion. Half of those grants were made available in 2017, and the next half in 2018.
• In 2016, Rep. Newhouse supported the House passage of H.R. 5046, the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Reduction Act of 2016 and 17 bills to address the national opioid abuse crisis. H.R. 5046 combats the opioid epidemic by establishing a streamlined, comprehensive opioid abuse grant program that encompasses a variety of new and existing programs, such as vital training and resources for first responders and law enforcement, criminal investigations for the unlawful distribution of opioids, drug courts, and residential substance abuse treatment. The bill authorizes $103 million annually for the grant program and is fully offset for cut-go purposes.

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